Beekeepers Association spreads buzz with Bee Buddies program for kids | WWAY NewsChannel 3 | Wilmington NC News

Beekeepers Association spreads buzz with Bee Buddies program for kids | WWAY NewsChannel 3 | Wilmington NC New

Yesterday as a way to promote the upcoming NC State Bee Keeper's Association Convention and the Bee Buddies program - my daughter Caroline held a frame of nurse bees with the help of a local New Hanover County BeeKeeper Association member - mind you she did this with no equipment.  A drone bee actually hatched when they were looking at the frame and that helped her get her mind off the fact bees were flying around her.   Later on - we geared up and got a explore the host bee keeper's bee yard.  Thanks for a wonderful time!

Caroline and NHCBKA member Brian West 

Looking at the Drone Bee hatching on the frame

Caroline still a little cautious....but still intriqued

My future beekeeper - all suited up and ready to explore a bee yard

Caroline watching the bees

Brief Reprieve of Winter

Old man Winter please go Away!!!!

This has been a crazy winter here in coastal North Carolina. ...two ice storms back to back and with the possibility more winter weather next week, so the warmer temps this week was a godsend!.   Yesterday we had awesome warm weather....almost record breaking. ..which made it a perfect day to explore a bee yard. A BIG THANK YOU to local New Hanover County BeeKeeper Association members Nicole, Brian and David for an awesome experience!

With the upcoming NC State Beekeeper's Association convention here in Wilmington NC on March 6-8th 2014,  and with the New Hanover County Bee Keepers Association as the host group...some of the local bee keepers wanted to bring some media coverage to the Bee Buddies program which will be presented to local 4th and 5th graders at the State Convention, so my oldest daughter Caroline held a frame of nurse bees without any equipment on with a little help.....that's will be another posting....

Caroline "holding" the frame of bees with a little help :)

The frame of brood and nurse bees

Despite the bees buzzing around - the experience was thrilling and relaxing at the same time.  The bees were curious at what we were doing in their house and they were so beautiful too.   I hope the photos below show just an inkling how regal these amazing creatures are.   Plus I got a little field experience too....I was able to identify a drone bee and the workers were pretty easy but we weren't able to find the queen - she was hiding somewhere.

Nosy little things aren't they?

What really surprised me was how heavy just 1 frame of bees, pollen, honey and brood can be and not to mention a 10 frame hive box which can weigh 50 lbs....ooomph!  Not good if one has a bad back like me.  So......After exploring these hives yesterday and seeing how heavy they can be--- it influenced me tremendously to lean towards the 8 frame hive boxes instead just because they would weigh less.

By exploring a mentor's/local bee keepers "bee yard" - it gave me ideas on how to create my own "bee yard."  Our host has a backyard similar to mine and she also has kids.  Kids, pets and bees - do they mix?  Yes they do in this case.  I was curious how she had her "bee yard" in proximity to her children's play areas, (ie., swingsets, or sandboxes) and the rule was when someone was in the "bee yard" the kids had to stay on the porch or suit up.  So in the back of my mind I was thinking - this is going to work out after all -- fingers crossed.   Hopefully winter will be going away soon - not only so we can start working on creating our bee yard but also so we can get our 2 Nucs in April! - 

The bees enjoying the warmer temps

Our gracious host explaining a few things to us

The bees checking us out 

What a wonderful sight....

Lots and Lots of Pollen

And so it Begins.......

2014 - Brings new things....and so it begins....my journey of being a beekeeper in the 'burbs.....being a beekeeper and a mommy......and eventually introducing beekeeping to my oldest daughter.....

So how did I get here?

My oldest sister got the book "Homegrown Honey Bees" for Christmas and posted it to Facebook - so I had to pick it up a copy too.....because if my sister wanted to do it....I thought that sure I can do it too...

Actually - I was interested in bees way before my big sister decided to post that book about bees on her Facebook page - a few years ago I wanted to do it but a friend of mine suggested that I take a class and also link up with a mentor if I wanted to be a successful beekeeper......but as I got busy with life --- you know working full time, dealing with two kids and everything that goes along with it.....and it faded to the background but now with this renewed interest I decided to look at how, where and what I needed to do......

I recommend looking up your state or local beekeepers association.  I looked up the North Carolina State Beekeepers Association http://www.ncbeekeepers.org/ and found out that here in New Hanover County there was a class - the local beekeeping association teaches a beginner class.....and luckily I was able to snag a slot in the class....it was a 6 week course including a field day to a "bee yard"....I didn't know what to expect.....but I was excited....

The first day of class - I was surprised that there was so many people - almost 50 people were in the class - the largest class that they ever taught -- some were younger like me and most were older retirees....and I felt like I was back in college learning all about the biology of a honey bee.....and I thought what did I get myself into.....but as the classes progressed.....it got easier and a little overwhelming too - especially the class about all of the things that can go wrong or that can affect the hive - including our recent cold snap that killed some local hives - one of the Bee Masters brought in a few frames of a "cluster" that had froze to death during our ice storm.....it was really sad.....

Bee Keeping Equipment class

Looks overwhelming doesn't it?  This is all of the things that can affect a hive!

Queen Bee (top)
Worker Bee (bottom)
These poor bees froze to death during the ice storm in January 2014

Example of bees who froze during the ice storm - notice the ones with their "bums" sticking out of the cells and also the capped brood.
We found the queen bee - shown above within this cluster.





So next week.....I take my written test and hopefully we will have our practical field day soon - if the weather cooperates.  Will keep you posted!